The Cleveland Browns are working to hire former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken as their next head coach, according to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones. Monken spent the last three seasons as John Harbaugh’s play-caller with the Ravens and previously worked as Cleveland’s OC in 2019.
The Browns fired Kevin Stefanski at the end of the season, but retained general manager Andrew Berry, who was a leading voice in drafting quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Monken will work with both quarterbacks along with making a decision on Deshaun Watson ahead of the 2026 season.
Monken was also in the mix to land the New York Giants’ OC vacancy, forcing Harbaugh to look elsewhere. Three coaches — Mike McDaniel, Jesse Minter and Grant Udinski — all pulled out of Cleveland’s search as targets with Monken, Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase and Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz being the eventual finalists.
Cleveland’s new hire is part of a mass restructuring within the AFC North, which including Pittsburgh hiring Mike McCarthy to replace Mike Tomlin and the Ravens hiring Minter to as Harbaugh’s replacement.
Monken served under Kirby Smart as Georgia’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2020-22, winning a pair of national titles. He orchestrated a balanced attack led by Stetson Bennett at quarterback and parlayed that rise into a return to the NFL with the Ravens in 2023. At Georgia, the Bulldogs were 37-3 overall during Monken’s tenure.
Quarterback will quickly fall under the microscope during Monken’s tenure. Sanders went 3-4 as the starter this season, and completed 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions in eight total games played. He became the first Browns quarterback to win his first career start since 1995 and despite struggles with efficiency in his first season, is reportedly a Pro Bowl honoree.
During his previous one-year stint in Cleveland, Monken helped the Browns generate a strong rushing attack behind Nick Chubb in 2019. Chubb rushed for 1,494 yards, the second-highest total in the NFL that season.
The Browns finished 6-10 with Monken as offensive coordinator and fired Freddie Kitchens as coach. Monken’s resurgence with the Ravens featured two of the league’s highest-scoring offenses his first two years behind Derrick Henry and Jackson. During the 2024 season, Baltimore led the league in total offense and rushing offense.
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